Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am not entirely sure if this is the place to ask, but it is an Age of Worms campaign we are playing. I'm seeing a lot of threads talking about encounters being too easy and the DM's having to buff up the encounters in numerous ways to make it a challenge, but we are having the opposite effect. As the module Dawn of a New Age is written, we are having a tough time of it, so I am resorting to the boards to ask for help.
1. My DM knows I am posting this. We are on Dawn of a New Age, and since it's the end asking for help is okay(because he wants to let the next DM start so he can play again).
2. We have access to Spell Compendium, magic item compendium and most WoTC splatbooks (everything but exalted deeds and vile darkness).
3. We have 6 players: Human Fighter, Human Favored Soul/Radiant Servant of Pelor, Human Wizard, 1/2 orc Cleric of Pelor, Human Swordsage, 1/2 orc Crusader. We are all 19th and 20th level.
4. The DM is very smart and runs the creatures like the merciless entities they are. Again, the module is run as written; he's not modifying anything.
This is our first high level game as a group, so I realize that we may not fully realize our destructive potential, and any help is appreciated. We'd like to see this thing to its end, and if anyone that wouldn't mind helping needs any more information I will gladly provide it. Here are some of the things that we have tried already or have been done to us:
1. Anything that has Greater Dispel will use it very, very liberally, targetting us and stripping away buffs. We normally go in a fight with Sheltered Vitality, Heroes feast, status, energy immunity(cold), mass resist energy(fire, acid, electricity), death ward, stalwart pact, freedom of movement. We normally leave a fight with all the melee losing most of these.
2. Thanks to Tenser's ritual, we cannot imprison, maze, or wish/miracle any bad guys because the ritual prevents them from being moved using any teleporting abilities and/or physically leaving the city at all.
3. I could use some suggestions for spells that improve our AC and saves. We might just be rolling bad or not using the right spells, but our AC and Saves aren't good enough to keep our eyeballs from turning into kyuss worms or being obliterated toe to toe in melee. I'm playing the Crusader with +5 Mithril full plate, +5 heavy fortification shield, +5 amulet of natural armor, +5 ring of protection. With a +3 dex, I get a 43 AC, and that seems low compared to many of the other posts I've seen here reporting AC's in the high 40's and 50's.
Thank you for any help provided!
|
Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am not entirely sure if this is the place to ask, but it is an Age of Worms campaign we are playing. I'm seeing a lot of threads talking about encounters being too easy and the DM's having to buff up the encounters in numerous ways to make it a challenge, but we are having the opposite effect. As the module Dawn of a New Age is written, we are having a tough time of it, so I am resorting to the boards to ask for help.
1. My DM knows I am posting this. We are on Dawn of a New Age, and since it's the end asking for help is okay(because he wants to let the next DM start so he can play again).
2. We have access to Spell Compendium, magic item compendium and most WoTC splatbooks (everything but exalted deeds and vile darkness).
3. We have 6 players: Human Fighter, Human Favored Soul/Radiant Servant of Pelor, Human Wizard, 1/2 orc Cleric of Pelor, Human Swordsage, 1/2 orc Crusader. We are all 19th and 20th level.
4. The DM is very smart and runs the creatures like the merciless entities they are. Again, the module is run as written; he's not modifying anything.This is our first high level game as a group, so I realize that we may not fully realize our destructive potential, and any help is appreciated. We'd like to see this thing to its end, and if anyone that wouldn't mind helping needs any more information I will gladly provide it. Here are some of the things that we have tried already or have been done to us:
1. Anything that has Greater Dispel will use it very, very liberally, targetting us and stripping away buffs. We normally go in a fight with Sheltered Vitality, Heroes feast, status, energy immunity(cold), mass resist energy(fire, acid, electricity), death ward, stalwart pact, freedom of movement. We normally leave a fight with all the melee losing most of these.
2. Thanks to Tenser's ritual, we cannot imprison, maze, or wish/miracle any bad guys because the ritual prevents them from being moved using any teleporting abilities and/or physically leaving the city at...
How did you defeat Dragotha? Any tactics that served you well in the Writhing Tabernacle should be equally effective in your return to Alhaster. Find a safe house of some kind. Work out ways to get there without teleporting. Space out your attacks/encounters with plenty of rest and respelling in between and you should be fine. Healing at range is a must at these levels. Be aware of this.
As far as greater dispel wreaking havoc with your buffs, think Spell Turning or Greater Spell Immunity, both spells that should be available to your primary divine and arcane spell casters. These buffs will counter targeted greater dispelling attempts, which is all you have to fear...until Kyuss himself fires off multiple Mage's Disjunctions and feeds on the remains of your pitiful little band of miscreants... uhmm... sorry... my inner DM got the better of me there for a moment.
Best of luck. Really.
TtO
AC:
- ioun stone (dusty rose)
- not much else lest you are a monk. Monks belt, maybe, for all without armor (wizard)
Saves:
- mass conviciton (SC). This is huge!
Your wizard should keep up:
- spell turning
What does work:
- Otto's irresistible dance (no save)
- use true casting (SC) often, can be quickened - or assay resistance (SC)
Against non-undead critters:
- brilliant energy weapons
- uh, and for AC because it gets forgotten all to often: figth defensively, with some ranks in tumble / or combat expertise (You should still be able to hit).
From the MIC:
- Ring of greater counterspells, with greater dispel magic (for frontliners and castrs alike)
Thanks for the advice guys. There are other problems I think that go beyond the right spells and equipment which I will be sure to address; namely, our casters are overly-defensive. Torc mentioned Dragotha, and I was reminded of what happened in that fight; the Crusader(me) and the Swordsage were between Dragotha and the casters(a cleric, druid, wizard, and sorcerer), and most of them spent the first round or two casting defensive spells instead of blowing him up.
As far as greater dispel wreaking havoc with your buffs, think Spell Turning or Greater Spell Immunity, both spells that should be available to your primary divine and arcane spell casters. These buffs will counter targeted greater dispelling attempts, which is all you have to fear...until Kyuss himself fires off multiple Mage's Disjunctions and feeds on the remains of your pitiful little band of miscreants... uhmm... sorry... my inner DM got the better of me there for a moment.
Best of luck. Really.
Greater Spell Immunity does not protect against a spell that doesn't allow spell resistance, like Greater Dispel Magic.
Well I haven't played the endgame, but I certainly understand your frustrations. Personally, I haven't had to beef up many encounters and I find AoW plenty challenging on it's own.
In our party, everyone hates the druid because of the same problem you're having. She spends the first three rounds of combat spelling up herself and her wolf, even for minor encounters. By the time she's done, the enemy has died and she's no help whatsoever.
Other than boosting your numbers on the character sheet, you might want to take a look at your teamwork. Generally speaking, if a party doesn't work well together they will never succeed- no matter how high their AC becomes. But I wish you and your band happy hunting- may the God of Worms tremble at the mention of your names!
Oh, and as an afterthought; did you have fun? What's your favorite part of the AP from a player's point of view?
Oh, and as an afterthought; did you have fun? What's your favorite part of the AP from a player's point of view?
First off, thanks. I think our teamwork is definitely something that should be looked at. Hopefully we'll see.
I did have fun. Unlike the others in the group, I read the whole adventure path the second every issue got to my doorstep. Naturally it's been at least a couple years, so I forgot enough with all the other material I read to make it exciting still. I'd have to say my favorite parts were the big fights in Kings of the Rift and Library of Last Resort. Since I knew it was coming, my opinion as a player is a little corrupted, but watching the other players groan while I silently giggled in anticipation for what was to come was very memorable. My excitement was really fueled by the fact that all my gaming friends will get to experience such a great adventure path.